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Egg nog is a classic, rich beverage served at Christmastime. There are many variations out there that range from alcohol-free to practically hard liquor with some creamy flavoring, but most egg nogs have one thing in common: raw eggs. Even if you closely examine the eggs for cracks and wash them before cracking them open, consuming raw eggs presents a slight health risk - a risk magnified if you or your guests have weakened immune systems or are pregnant. Here's a recipe that cooks the eggs first to help reduce the risk even further.

Even though we will be cooking the eggs, we won't be holding the eggs at a high temperature for very long. Be sure to check you eggs for any cracks or blemishes and wash them before cracking them. In fact, you should do this for any egg you plan on eating and throw away any eggs that seem questionable to you.

Crack the eggs into a medium saucepan. Beat with the sugar until the color of the egg lightens.

Add about two cups of milk and cook over low heat while stirring constantly.

When the mixture (which is really just a simple custard) starts to thicken up a bit and is able to coat the back of a spoon, remove from the heat.

Allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes. The mixture should be around 160°F and the resting period will help give time to kill off a lot of the unwanted bacteria (but not all because of the relatively low heat and short waiting time). Five minutes isn't long enough for the temperature to drop low enough for the bacteria to find the conditions favorable for reproduction.

Add the remaining milk to the mixture and stir in the vanilla extract and nutmeg.

How does the texture compare to a raw egg nog? What I like about the real deal compared to the pasteurized stuff you buy in the milk carton is that it is light and fluffy not thick. How much of the protein are you denaturing in the cooking process?

How do you think it would turn out with Land O Lakes fat free half n half instead of whole milk? I'd like to cut the fat content. ( I do prefer the thinner fat free nogs over the uber-thick whole fat nogs anyway.)

I made this last night and it turned out quite good. Just be careful to heat really slowly so the egg and sugar cooking stage doesn't form lumps (although any lumps that form tend to be very tasty).

It is also much more economical then the ready made kind. Considering the 10 servings mentioned in the recipe the cost comes out close to 0.185 per serving. This doesn't include labor but since slave labor will probably be used that cost is minimal.

Alton Brown's Good Eats recipe recommends separating the eggs prior to making the custard, making the custard with the yolks, and then just before serving, whip up the whites with a small amount (1 tablespoon for 6 whites, or something) of sugar, which is then folded into the custard.

Also, he made the same recipe, more or less, both cooked and uncooked, and revealed that the cooked version was thicker, though not intolerably so, and that was the major difference. In the case of cooking the custard, he used pasturized egg whites that he whipped up, instead of the raw whites that he had separated-- you can save those for another application in which they can be cooked.

A reasonable compromise between cooking and raw might be to coddle the eggs, which is to boil them for a very short time, 60 seconds, 90 at most, and then put them in ice-water to stop the cooking. The egg-white will cook only in the exterior parts, leaving a liquid white and intact yolk in the center, and the outer part of the egg, at least, bacteria free. If the bacteria have moved into the yolk, well, that's the (reduced) risk you take. You'll need some supplementary whites to make up the loss, so you'll still want to get your pasturized whites.

I was wondering why it came out so thin. I made the recipe with the 2 and 6 that was originally posted. I'll try it again with the proper 2 and 2 and see how it comes out, because it does have a pleasant flavor. It's just too thin for my taste. However, it's still really good in coffee as a replacement for milk, so it's not a total loss.

I was wondering why it came out so thin. I made the recipe with the 2 and 6 that was originally posted. I'll try it again with the proper 2 and 2 and see how it comes out, because it does have a pleasant flavor. It's just too thin for my taste. However, it's still really good in coffee as a replacement for milk, so it's not a total loss.

I was wondering why it came out so thin. I made the recipe with the 2 and 6 that was originally posted. I'll try it again with the proper 2 and 2 and see how it comes out, because it does have a pleasant flavor. It's just too thin for my taste. However, it's still really good in coffee as a replacement for milk, so it's not a total loss.

I'm really sorry about that!

Hey, don't worry about it It was fun to make and I really enjoy the recipes on your site - your pumpkin pie one yields the best pie out of all the ones I've tried. I fully plan on trying this egg nog one again as soon as I get some more whole milk.

I make egg nog the old way with uncooked egg yolks and enough bourbon and brandy and honey to kill any organisms. Alton Brown said in his show on egg nog that he prefers the taste of the uncooked version, and suggested using pasteurized eggs. I couldn't find these this year. But my recipe starts with 12 fresh organic egg yolks creamed with 1 1/2 cups honey, which would kill a fair no. of organisms on its own, and then you add 3/4 cup bourbon and 1/2 cup brandy to the mix. Wouldn't that finish off the rest? Any microbiologists out there?

While the alcohol must help, I don't think honey would have much of an effect in killing bacteria-- it's true that bacteria can't survive in honey, but it's for the same reason that most bacteria can't survive when you make beef jerky-- the environments pull the moisture out. Adding loads of a water-based liquid will probably negate honey's bacteria-killing effect.

As for the liquor-- I think that it would do a good job as you are adding it directly to the egg/sugar (or rather, egg/honey) mixture-- the alcohol and its effects won't be horribly diluted as compared to adding it later. Also, check Alton's advice again: he used pasturized egg whites, which are much more common, I'd think, than pasturized eggs (I have the idea there are such a thing, but I'm not so sure).

I'm no microbiologist, but common sense says that you should figure out your own risk level while account for the fact that you have (or, being an ill person, an older person, or a very young person, do not have) an immune system which is just the thing for taking care of rogue bacteria in eggs. Do what you can, and let your body take care of the rest; worst cast for most people would be a bad case of what Alton calls "tummy music."